Mobile, Ala. -- The Syracuse native who pleaded guilty in August to plotting violent acts in the United States and working to join a terrorist movement abroad will be sentenced on Dec. 22, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Mohammad Abdul Rahman Abukhdair, 25, will be sentenced by Judge Kristi K. DuBose in a federal courthouse in Mobile, Ala. Abukhdair faces 15 years in prison on terrorism charges.

According to court documents, Abukhdair said that the purpose of Islam is to conquer the world with violent means. He suggested that he and co-defendant Randy "Rasheed" Wilson could form "AQUSA" -- al-Qaeda in the USA. He proposed seizing hostages in the U.S. and demanding the release of convicted terrorists.

Abukhdair and Wilson eventually decided to fight for Islam in Africa instead, and planned to travel to Mali, where they expected violence to break out. Abukhdair was arrested at an Atlanta bus stop on Dec. 11, 2012, as he prepared to fly to Morocco via Canada.

Abukhdair and Wilson initially contested the charges. Public defender Domingo Soto argued that their statements and plans were theoretical, and that there was no proof they planned any violent actions, according to the Associated Press.

Abukhdair was born in Syracuse on Oct. 3, 1987. Court documents do not say how long he lived in the area, but in 2007 he moved from the U.S. to Cairo, Egypt.

Prosecutors did not return calls with requests for more information about how long Abukhdair lived in Syracuse.